Tag Archives: food

My birthday was two weeks ago, and we were supposed to go out to dinner, but I had been struck by some horrible nasty cold which might or might not have been the flu, I’ll never know for sure.

Our babysitters (aka grandma and grandpa- my parents) weren’t available the weekend after, so last night was the make-up night. Of course, I logged onto Open Table to make last minute reservations at 2:30 in the afternoon that same day, so the earliest time available was 8:30. Well, actually it was 4:30, but this was supposed to be a date night. Who makes a dinner reservation at 4:30? Is a restaurant really so crowded at that time that one even needs a reservation?

Anyway, I digress. My son had been begging to go to Panera all week, so we went there for lunch yesterday and I had the Asian chicken salad, one of my favorites. I have a Panera rewards card, which builds up points so you can get free stuff sometimes. Well, they had loaded something onto my card for my birthday – I was hoping it was a smoothie, but alas, it was a free pastry. Damn it. They looked so good. And when did Panera start carrying cupcakes?? It took everything I had in me to give up that free pastry. But I have to confess something here – I had already decided I was going to have dessert that night. Date night doesn’t happen too often and it was technically supposed to be my birthday dinner.

I spend the rest of the day cleaning the house. I had an apple and a cheese stick for snack. Then I thought about the sugar in the apple. There’s a lot of sugar in an apple. Then, I decided I was being ridiculous. You can’t compare an apple to a cookie. So, I need to revise my goal here a bit: to control my REFINED sugar addiction.

Back to date night. It is always so weird to be in the car without any kids. Usually, getting into the car takes 20 minutes. With no kids, its get in and go. Nobody is screaming or crying or complaining about the song on the radio. It is also weird eating without any kids. You can have a conversation without being interrupted 18 million times for more of this or none of that. No one is throwing food on the floor or getting sauce in her hair.

One of our favorite Restaurants – Pasta Pasta in Port Jefferson, NY

We arrived at 8:30 but of course there were no tables ready. It was like being in a doctors’ office. Why do these places make you wait for so long? I was convinced that this restaurant did it to get people to buy wine. Everyone in the waiting area was drinking. I was so hungry, that if I’d had a glass of wine I’d either be on the floor drunk or puking before I even got a chance to look at the menu. My mood was quickly going downhill. I’m usually getting in to my pajamas and thinking of my bed at 9pm, not waiting to just get seated for dinner.

Its is very cozy inside. The service and food is spectacular.

Once we were finally seated, I decided to be adventurous and order something I never had before – lobster. I know this sounds crazy. 35 years old and never had lobster? Well, its the truth. I ordered a pasta dish with lobster, and it was delish, especially the sauce, although I have to admit, I’m not really sure I understand the big deal about lobster. Is it an acquired taste, like beer or coffee? As we waited for our food, I saw desserts being delivered to tables all around us. The all looked amazing; and I was thinking more about dessert than the entry, the crazy sugar-addicted person I am.

I didn’t stuff myself to oblivion with my pasta because I had to save room for dessert. I had denied myself for three days and now I was going to indulge. I ordered a brownie-oreo-chocolate chip cookie confection with ice cream. It was A-MAZ-ING. I was actually glad that I hadn’t eaten sweets for a few days, because it made this dessert a million times better. It was then I really, truly realized I don’t need to have ice cream, or cookies, or chocolate every day, because then when you do, it is like heaven-on-earth. Thank you date night, for teaching me this very valuable lesson. Oh, and for letting me spend some much needed alone time with the hubby.

My name is Lauren and I am addicted to ice cream. Seriously. Well, not just ice cream, but cookies too. And maybe cake. I really have a major sweet tooth – this is no secret to anyone who knows me.

I feel like such a contradiction because I really want to be healthy. I try to eat healthy, and feed my family healthy. But I just can’t get away from the sugary stuff. In fact, I am thinking about the cookies up in the kitchen right now.

I read about people who do these sugar detoxes and think that this maybe something I should try. But you know what, I really don’t want to. I want to enjoy a sweet treat sometimes. I don’t think that is so bad. But I do think I need to focus on that word – sometimes.

I know I eat sugar way too often. I know I don’t exercise enough. I know that I am lucky to be the weight I am at while I eat this crap. I know I am getting older (just turned 35 – what??) and my body is going to rebel if I keep this up.

So here I am. I decided to start this blog so I can have some accountability. I will have to actually write it down if I eat 10 oreos for breakfast. I will then be able to look back and realize that was a pretty poor choice. Maybe someone else will read this, and then I will feel like not only do I owe it to myself to do better, but also to that person.

Here’s the word I am going to concentrate on – MODERATION. My goal is not totally cut out the sweets, but to learn they are for the occasional treat.